Memories
by White Truffle
Summary: Royce and Isabelle are back home trying to figure out where they left off.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I own nothing except for my stories. Inspired by Sade's 'By your side'. Appreciate if you guys would review. Onward to Chapter 2!

Isabelle looked out the window of her bedroom. She hugged her knees and snuggled into the warmth of her loose woollen sweater and closed her eyes. She breathed in the musky smell of rain and pine. The sound of heavy rain beating against her windows and roof was comforting. It has been 4 months since she got back home.

She remembered running through the jungle, separated from Royce. She knew she was low on ammo and she didn't bother firing at them. No way was she going to die in their hands but she was tired of running. If Royce wasn't around, she would have lost her sanity and probably end up like Nolan. She hid behind a rock, her hand tightened around the .45 magnum. She checked the barrel.

'_Fuck' _she laughed to herself. She was down to her last bullet. She knew what she had to do. A shot through the head would be quick. A good way to go compared to being gutted alive. She leaned back against the rock and closed her eyes to listen to her surroundings.

'_Where are you Royce?' _She prayed he was safe but felt selfish for leaving him alone if she pulled the trigger on herself. Her eyes shot open when she heard rustling. She scanned the area and her gun moved up to her temple when she saw glowing eyes metres away from her. Her throat choked in fear as the creature uncloaked itself. Part of her felt relived it was going to be over soon. For a moment she wondered about life after death. Would she end up in heaven or hell? Hell. This place was hell enough for her. _How bad could it be?_ She smirked.

"I'm sorry Royce" she whispered, her eyes closed. She saw his disapproving face and pulled the trigger.

She sighed and made her way to her dresser and turned on her player. The soothing husky voice of Sade filled her room.

_**You think I'd leave your side baby**_

_**You know me better than that**_

_**You'd think I'd leave you down when you're down on your knees**_

_**I wouldn't do that**_

She tried to locate his whereabouts right after she got back. She needed to know if he made it home too. She had her contacts look him up with hardly had any background info on him. Unfortunately they didn't have time to get acquainted with personal details on the game reserve. She managed to get his last place of residence before his last 'deployment'. Apparently he moved alot, not staying in one place long enough for people to find him. She had taken leave of absence from duty and decided to drive up to Minnesota. When she arrived, Royce was nowhere to be found. She asked around town if anyone had seen him. No one did. She returned to his house and left a note and a number for him to call. That was 2 months ago. She never got that call.

The relationship they had was one of a kind. They needed and depended on each other for survival, had each other's back. The emotional bond was inseparable. Even for a cold hearted brooding mercenary, that had to count for something.

_**When you're on the outside baby and you can't get in**__**  
**__**I will show you, you're so much better than you know**__**  
**__**When you're lost and you're alone and you can't get back again**__**  
**__**I will find you, darling and I will bring you home**_

She missed him, despite his cold, conceited and cynical nature. He **is** a ruthless mercenary with no real ethics after all. Call it occupational hazard. However she knew deep down, his conscious was still intact. **"I'm not a good man. But I'm not a monster either" **she remembered him say. He was a very reserved man, not giving away much about himself it was almost frustrating.

She heard a vehicle drove up front her porch. She frowned. No one normally drives up to her area except for Carl, her personal grocer who helps hers stock up her provisions. And he wasn't due for another week. She reached out for her gun by her bedside table, tucked it behind her waist and walked out to the hallway when her doorbell rang. She peered through the curtain and saw someone standing outside. His face was hidden in his hood. Her hand reached her gun at her waist and opened the door.

"We have to stop meeting like this" he said calmly when she pointed the gun at him. The first time he met her on the preserve, she had her sniper rifle pointed at him.

"ROYCE!" her voice squeaked in shock at the sight of him standing her, wet from the rain. Before she realized it, she had her arms around him. "I thought you didn't make it back".

"Didn't think you'd miss me that much" he grinned. "So are you going to invite me in?"

She laughed. Still a cynic.

"They dropped you off somewhere too?" his dark eyes watched her as she walked from the kitchen with cold beer in her hand. "Thanks" he took the beer as she handed it to him.

"Off the coast. Had to hitch a ride home" she sat back and turned to him. He had his white military tank shirt on. His wet sweater hung out to dry. He was leaning back, a muscular toned arm rested on top of the sofa. His tight muscle rippled as he took a swig of beer. Her cheeks flushed as she quickly looked away. He always had that effect on her. "You?".

"Africa. Still wonder why they let us off".

"As long as we're home. I had a hard time explaining to my superiors what happened. Fortunately for me that Guatemala incident backed up my story. How did u find me anyway?"

"Wasn't so hard to look up a female IDF sniper in the system" he said matter of fact. "I was heading North, thought I'd drop by and visit an old friend"

"Took you awhile. I've been looking around for you. Even went up to Minnesota to see if you made it back. Asked the locals if they had seen you. Almost believed you didn't make it" she said quietly. "I'm really glad to see you Royce".

"Always the caring soldier aren't you" he smiled warmly. "Anyway, I'm supposed to be somewhere next week. Since I'm heading this way, was wondering if I could crash here. Promise I won't stand in your way. You won't even know I'm here".

She gave him her mona lisa smile "If you don't mind the couch. I don't have a spare room for you".

He dropped his hand on the seat, "Beggars can't be choosers. Sofa is fine with me" he looked at her approvingly "Thanks Izzy".


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Their story on how they survived will be in the next few chapters as the characters develop. This chapter was inspired by the song 'Alone' by Heart. For some reason my playlists are in favour of Royce/Isabelle. LOL.

_**I hear the ticking of the clock  
I'm lying here the room's pitch dark  
I wonder where you are tonight  
No answer on the telephone  
And the night goes by so very slow  
Oh I hope that it won't end though  
Alone**_

Royce drummed his finger on the table. His eyes scanned the bar. "Not much of a crowd tonight" The bartender said as he handed his beer. "Military?" he asked again, nodding towards his dog tags hanging around his neck. Royce ignored him and drank his beer, not really in the mood to entertain his small talks.

"You need some company tonight handsome?" she purred and brushed herself against him.

Royce turned his head and she moved closer to him, her lips inches apart from his. He estimated her age to be about mid 20's. Blonde hair, slender frame; quite attractive, he noted. She ran her hand up his strong arms. He could smell cheap perfume on her. He lingered close to her lips for a moment before muttering "Not interested" and looked away.

"Asshole" she cursed before walking off. He sneered and turned his attention to the bartender. "Can you tell me where this is" he passed him a piece of paper with an address scribbled on it.

"Its about a mile from here. Keep right pass the church and you'll see a sign" he passed the paper back to him.

"Thanks. Keep the change" Royce threw some cash on the table and walked to his car.

_**Till now I always got by on my own  
I never really cared until I met you  
And now it chills me to the bone  
How do I get you alone  
How do I get you alone**_

Royce started his jeep and followed the bartender's direction. The night was wet and cold. He could hardly see the road in front of him. He took his time driving in the pouring rain, collecting his thoughts. A lot has changed since he returned home. He was dropped off in Africa and stayed there a while. He knew the locals there when he was there on call. He called his contacts to check on Isabelle. He was informed that she had reported to work and enquired for her address. He had to see her again. Something about her disturbed him, in a good way. The time they spent surviving somehow changed him. He was a selfish, put self before others kind of man. That was his number one rule of survival. That kept him alive when he did his job. He was upset when Isabelle insisted that he left her and Edwin that night. He was hoping she would come with him but she was as stubborn as he was. They were both the same, yet different. Both were killers of their world. Both exceptionally good at their jobs. But Isabelle had a heart of gold which Royce regarded as her weakness. He kept telling her it would be the death of her. She had faith in him to make the right choice when he himself was on the brink of losing his humanity.

Years of killing had made him a bitter and cold person. There was no guilt or compassion. There was only ardor. He enjoyed his job. It made him alive when part of him was already dead. But being around Isabelle stirred something in him. As much as she got on his nerve, he grew fond of her. That doesn't happen too often for Royce; it felt almost alien to him. He doesn't give a shit about what others think of him. But with her around, he found himself to be a nicer, more tolerable person. Sometimes he would purposely annoy her with his attitude just to see her flare up. He secretly loved that feisty _dominant _streak in her. He grinned at that thought.

He turned right at the sign and followed the road leading to a small house. He parked the car up front and turned off the engine before running in the rain to the front porch. He pressed on the door bell and waited. For some reason, his gut was doing flip flops but the feeling vanished when a .50 caliber magnum was pointed at his face.

_**You don't know how long I have wanted  
To touch your lips and hold you tight, oh  
You don't know how long I have waited  
And I was gonna tell you tonight  
But the secret is still my own  
And my love for you is still unknown  
Alone**_

He smiled. For once, he didn't mind being at the other end of the gun.


End file.
